In the big Division 1 game of week 5, Manchester United took on rivals Chelsea. It had been the London team that snatched the league title away from Manchester last season, after a last minute goal against them. United went into this home game seeking to get revenge, especially as Chelsea have not had the best of starts to this years campaign.
It was honours even in the first half. with both teams kicking chunks out of each other but not really troubling the goalkeepers. It was Chelsea who made the first mistake in the second half, as they gave away a needless free kick on the edge of the area. United made full use of it as they scored. Although Chelsea fought back, United pressed for more and found a striker on the edge of the six-yard box. Despite no-one thinking he could score, the forward hammered the ball into the far top corner to make it 2-0.
In injury time, Chelsea let their frustrations get the better of them and have away another free kick. United stepped up and hammered it home to leave the result at a resounding 3-0.
The weeks other big game was between Liverpool and Arsenal. Liverpool had a solid defence but up front they were all over the place, with long balls going too far or missed shots. It was quite a drab game, with Arsenal looking to get back on the counter attack. It was not far from the end when Liverpool’s defence ended up out of position and clipped an Arsenal player on their way back. Arsenal were awarded a penalty which they duly converted. Although Liverpool searched for an equaliser, they ran out of time, leaving Arsenal as 1-0 winners. Liverpool have now lost 3 of their opening 5 games, whilst Arsenal have won 4 from 5 and are pushing for the top spot.
In the relegation 6-point game, Norwich City finally found their scoring boots. West Ham looked a tired side after their midweek League Cup match and Norwich made full use of their rest period. They put two goals past the Hammers, as they finally get their points tally underway. West Ham are now in big trouble, as they only have the same points as Norwich City.
There was nothing to separate rivals Southampton and Newcastle as they played out a 1-1 draw. Surprisingly, Southampton had the better of the play and went 1-0 up. Southampton looked good to go 2-0 ahead but Newcastle found a way to equalise against the run of play. Neither side could score after that, but a point does little favour for either side.
League leaders Everton took on a struggling Nottingham Forest at the City ground. The home team were first to score and they thought they may be able to take all 3 points. Everton were aiming to set a new record of 5 wins in a row from the start of the season but this looked a long way off as they fought back. With minutes remaining Everton found a way through to break Forest hearts. Everton could not find a winning goal so it was one point to each side, as Everton drop to second place in the league.
The final match of the week was between this years surprise team Watford, against London rivals Spurs. In an even contest, both teams wanted the win. Tottenham took the lead and nearly had a second but it flew over the crossbar. The match went into injury time and Spurs were nearly home but Watford had a late attack into the Spurs area. It looked like Watford had a perfect shooting position and a rash Spurs defensive manoeuvre caught the attacker. Watford were awarded a penalty and scored with the last kick of the match. Watford remain in 4th place with Spurs now in trouble with only 4 points from 5 games.